


Revisionist History

by magician



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Bingo, Challenge Response, Established Relationship, Family, M/M, Sentinel Bingo Card
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-15 19:14:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13619913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magician/pseuds/magician
Summary: Sometimes we must review the past to see it clearly.





	Revisionist History

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2018 Sentinel Bingo Challenge for the prompt "parents/family"

"Mom, are you sure you don't want to stay a little longer?  It's been so nice having you here," Blair said.  
  
Naomi looked fondly at her son but shook her head.  "You know what Grandma always said. 'Guests and fish smell after three days'."  They both laughed.  "Besides, you and Jim need your privacy. You both should be leading healthy lives, and that includes lots of sex."  
  
"Mom!" Blair said exasperatingly.    
  
Jim was drinking coffee and barely avoided spraying it all over the counter. "Thanks for the advice, Naomi," he said wryly, walking over to give her a hug.  
  
"Keep taking good care of him," she whispered in Jim's ear.  He tightened the hug and nodded.  
  
They broke their embrace. "Where are you off to next?" Jim asked.  
  
"Visiting a friend in Maine. She's got a maple tree farm and the sap is starting to run. We'll be boiling down the syrup for the next couple of weeks, then we'll take a trip to Nova Scotia before it gets too snowy."  
  
"Sounds like fun."  
  
"It is!  You two should travel more often.  When you're ready, let's meet somewhere exciting!"  
  
"Will do," Jim said, giving her one more goodbye hug.  Blair walked her to her car.  
  
When Blair returned, he saw "that" look on Jim's face.  The pensive one that said he was happy enough to see Naomi, but it also reminded him of his lack of a mother.  "Should I tell her to come less often?" Blair asked softly.  
  
"No!" Jim answered immediately. "Except for the sage and, okay, some of her weirder culinary creations, Naomi is great."  
  
Blair smiled gently.  "That's my lover--seeing her through rose-colored glasses.  She's lovely when she gets her own way. She's opinionated and stubborn when she doesn't.  As a mother, well, 'unconventional' is one of the kinder things you call her."  
   
"Hey, at least you have one." Jim muttered.  It was a subject they didn't touch on often, but it looked as if it would get touched today.  
  
"And you have a father," Blair countered.  "One that you can see anytime you like by just picking up the phone and taking a short drive." Jim looked at him stonily.  
  
Blair stared right back. "C'mon, don't give me that look.  You _know_ I'm always on your side, but sometimes we're not so realistic in how we view our family.  Let me put this out there and then, if you want me to shut up, I will." After a moment, Jim gave him a curt nod.  
  
"Your mom left for her own reasons.  Your dad remarried, but it didn't work out with Grace.  After that, he didn't marry again. Through two marriages and two children, he was steadfast; he was the one who stayed and stuck it out.  He didn't ship you off to boarding school, or foist you onto grandparents, or put you up for adoption; and all those choices were his.  He didn't try a third marriage--he just focused on his work and his sons.  He hired Sally, who was a magnificent choice.  He certainly could have gotten someone a lot less appealing and loving." Jim still stared, but he wasn't saying anything, so Blair took that as a sign to continue.  
  
"I think he just had some trouble dealing with all those curve balls, you know? But he did the best he could at the time.  Now, he acknowledges his mistakes and regrets them. He's reached out to you, even accepted me as a son-in-law.  So, I have no beef with him."  
  
"All right, Chief, you make some good points," Jim admitted, although still a bit grudgingly.  
  
Blair took a deep breath and let it out.  "So, now, let's try something.  I want you to think of one thing your dad did to you or for you that you're grateful for, either now or then." He held up his hand as Jim opened his mouth. "No, I really want you to think about this.  Take as much time as you need. Sift back through all the hurt and bad feelings and find something significant."  
  
With that, Blair led Jim to the couch and had him sit.  He removed Jim's socks and started massaging his feet, focusing slowly and deliberately on certain reflexology points.  After he was done, he moved to Jim's shoulders and worked on them, loosening the muscles that were tight with tension.  Finally, he stretched Jim out on the couch and made room so he could lay next to him, just laying there, holding him and breathing slowly and steadily.  
  
Finally, Jim spoke.  "Dad insisted that we both have jobs growing up.  You know, mowing lawns or paper routes.  One summer, I was even a stock boy at a local grocery store.  The worst part was that Dad would take all but a couple of bucks and put it in a bank account.  He said with compound interest those small amounts would grow, and that we'd be grateful once we saw the results. Of course, we couldn't get at the money until we were of age, and I couldn't fight his rules, so after a while I just gave up and didn't complain about it."  Jim shook his head. "It didn't stop me from being resentful that I couldn't spend it the way I wanted to--the way other boys did when they got allowances that they hadn't even worked for.  
  
"After I left for the Army, one of the things I took with me was the savings passbook.  They were able to transfer the money to the account where my pay got deposited.  I was shocked to learn there were thousands of dollars in that savings account."  
  
"So, your dad was right. Those little bits of saving grew."  
  
"Yes and no.  I was happy to get it, especially since my beginning Army pay wasn't much. So, I didn't think about it.  Later, after I calculated it out, I realized that it couldn't have been just my odd jobs money in that account.  Dad must have been matching my deposits to get it that high." Jim shook his head.  "I haven't thought about that in almost twenty years, Chief.  I was so angry with him and my brother for so long that it slipped my mind."  
  
"Wow."  
  
"But one thing he was right about was developing the habit of saving. Because I got food, shelter and clothing through the Army, I was able to sock away most of my pay.  Oh, I could have indulged in buying a lot of things or partying, but the habit to spend judiciously is something that came from him."  
  
Blair chuckled.  "And here I thought the loft was Spartan because of your sentinel senses."  
  
"Well, yes, but less crap around means less to dust. You could keep that in mind, you know."  
  
Blair poked him gently in the ribs. "But you're very generous with your money," he protested. "You're definitely not a Scrooge."  
  
"No.  Precisely because I don't waste it on unimportant stuff, I can spend it on things that are actually valuable to me." He put his arms around Blair and gave him a squeeze.  "Like traveling with you to wherever Naomi wants to meet on our next vacation."  
  
Blair squeezed him back. "That would be awesome. I know she'd love to play tourist guide.  So, what are we going to do to thank your dad?"  
  
"Mm. How about we take him up to the cabin next weekend? It's still warm enough; we could teach him how to fly fish."  
  
Blair pushed up to kiss Jim. "Three family men facing the great outdoors together? That sounds just about perfect."  
  
~~the end~~


End file.
